Azure (Drowning In You) (22 page)

***

“Kirsten and Markus would like you to have dinner with us tonight.” Olivia squinted against the sun that sat low on the horizon like a golden eye.

“And you? Would you like me to?” He lay back, propping his head on his pile of clothes.

“Yeah. If you don’t have other plans.”

He hummed. “I’ll cancel my important plans for tonight in favor of having dinner with you... if you give me a kiss.”

“So selfless of you,” she muttered, grinning.

“Actually, I’m very selfish.” He pulled her over him so she lay on his chest, their legs tangled. “I want you all to myself.”

“How wicked of you, then,” she whispered against his mouth and then he was kissing her hungrily, nipping at her lips, his eyes closing. She drew back for a breath and he moaned softly, shifting under her. His hands pressed down on her back, molding her to his body so she could feel how affected he was. It sent waves of heat down her spine.

She kissed him, taking her time, raking her fingers through his short hair, tugging lightly.

He arched back with a groan. She tugged harder, watching pleasure wash over his features, and ran her lips over the stubble on his chin and down his throat.

With a grunt, he rolled her over and climbed on top of her, his breathing coming in short gasps. He bent his head, so their foreheads touched. “What have you done to me?” he murmured. “I can’t stop touching you.”

I’m taking you back from the sea
, she thought.
Claiming you.
“Kai...”

“Oh man.” He shook. “Stop me. I’m going to take you right now unless you stop me, and there are people watching.”

Shit
. She sat up so fast their foreheads bumped and Kai fell off. “People watching? Where?” She scanned the beach. A couple sat not too far away. The man was looking right at her. Her face heated.

“Ow.” Kai rubbed his head. “You stopped me alright.”

“I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

“I’ll live.” His lips quirked in a smile. “So I take it you don’t like people watching when we kiss?”

“Asks the man who can’t stand crowds and lives in a hut on a cliff.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

He hung his head, his smile fading. “Yeah...”

“Hey. I love your hut.” She threw her arms around him and was rewarded with the return of his smile.

“God, Liv.” He stroked her cheek. “You’re so beautiful. Can I keep you?”

She laughed, leaning her head on his shoulder. “I’m high maintenance. I eat a lot.”

“You do?”

She looked down at her still too skinny frame and made a moue. “Okay, not a lot, but expensive stuff.”

“Caviar,” he said with a straight face. “And champagne.”

“Definitely champagne.” She tickled his stomach and he flinched, his eyes widening. Hey, he was ticklish!
Cool.
“And exotic fruit. Mango, papaya, starfruit... Do you like exotic fruit?”

She tickled him again, before he had a chance to reply, and he gasped and twisted, trying to get away. She tickled him under the armpits and he fell off her, writhing like a fish. Attacking him again, she managed to throw him on his back. He struggled against her, tickling her ribs until she fell off, eating a mouthful of sand.

“I won,” he said and leaped to his feet. He grabbed her around the waist and walked toward the water. “Therefore I get to wash you.”

“Wash me?” Still spitting sand, she wiggled in his arms. “Let go of me.”

“As you wish.” He took a few more steps and released her.

Into the ice-cold water.

Yelping, she flailed about until she broke the surface. She gasped for air, then laughed and coughed.

“You’ll pay for this.” She choked on a giggle. “Bastard.” She launched herself at him and wrapped her legs around his hips, her arms around his shoulders.

Kai laughed, a low, musical sound that vibrated through him. “Payment will be in champagne, I assume.”

“Damn right.” She hummed happily, still wrapped around him like a limpet. “You’ll be so sorry you met me.”

His laughter faded and he drew a long, shaky breath. “I doubt that,” he said softly.

***

Kirsten sent another message as they drove back, asking where to meet for dinner. Kai said he’d picked them all up and take them to a nice place.

Olivia sent off his reply, looking at him sideways. That faint smile was still on his face. It was cute. And sexy. And it made her heart soar.

“Your friends,” he said as they drove through the low hills. “Where are they from?”

“
Germany
.
Southern Germany
, in fact. Half the time I don’t understand a word they say.”

“You speak German.” He sounded impressed.

“Yes. That’s the sum of the foreign languages I know.” She pushed her hair out of her eyes. She’d lost her hair-band in all the mock-fighting. “What about you? What languages do you speak?”

“Some Greek. Very badly.” He frowned. “I tried to learn French but gave up.”

“And you don’t read anymore.”

He gave a half-smile. “That’s right. Not anymore.”

“Why not?”

He swallowed hard. “Because books remind me of someone. And I don’t want to remember.”

Uh oh. Ex-girlfriend alert?
“Fair enough. How old are you?”

“I’m twenty. You like asking questions, don’t you?” Said without heat.

“You said I could ask,” she reminded him. “Before we date again.”

“You make dating sound dirty.” His grin spread from ear to ear. “Dirty in a good sense. How old are you?”

“Nineteen. My birthday is next month. When’s yours?”

“It’s passed. It was in August.”

“Did you party all night long into the morning of your birthday?”

He shook his head.

Right, of course not. A hermit and all that.

“So what do you do when you’re not working? In your free time?”

“I swim.”

She waited until she realized he wasn’t going to say more. “Come on, there must be more things you do.”

His eyes narrowed on the road ahead. “I fish. I think. I dream.” He cast her a sidelong glance. “Of girls like you.”

“And what am I like?”

“Like sunshine.”

Her heart skipped a beat. “You’re a poet at heart, aren’t you?”

His brow furrowed and he didn’t answer. He drove fast but carefully, slowing down if another car approached. They quickly left the peninsula behind and drove along the coast, passing Kissamos Kastelli with its Venetian castle.

“Your friends,” he said, chewing on the inside of his cheek. “They don’t mind us spending so much time together, do they?”

“Stressed about dinner with them?”

He gave a soft snort. “That obvious, huh?”

“They like you.” She put a hand on his leg. “Stop worrying. It will be fun.”

He sighed. “Yeah. Not used to going out anymore.”

That meant he hadn’t always been that way. He’d been carefree once; outgoing. Living among people, not running from them.

“Kai, why are you here? I mean, I know this thing of the sea brought you here...” Whatever it was. “But you used to live in
New York
. You said so. Why not go back?”

“There’s nothing for me there.”

“But your friends? Your parents?”

“Not there anymore.”

She bit her lip and looked away. He said he’d tell her everything.
Patience, Liv.
Give him some time.
He was already telling her things about himself.

For a hermit and a recluse, he’d begun to open up. In fact, for a hermit, he was too damn handsome.

And she was in too damn deep.

***

Kirsten and Markus settled in the back of the pickup, talking excitedly about the monastery and cave they’d visited, located on steep hills over the sea. Markus passed her the camera to see pictures. It was impressive, though it couldn’t compare to Balos where Kai had taken her.

Kai’s presence might have played a role, too.
Maybe
. She hid a smile.

“Hey, man.” Markus reached around the seat to shake Kai’s hand. “What’s up?”

“Where are we going?” Kirsten folded her arms behind Olivia’s head and leaned forward so she could speak in her ear. “You look happy,” she whispered.